DECEMBER 1986 ...The Bangles Walk Like An Egyptian… To Number 1
When Bangles’ Walk Like An Egyptian topped the US chart, the Los Angeles foursome became the Sand Dance Kids as they warbled sing-song lyrics about bazaars, the River Nile and crocodiles over twitchy rhythms and rock guitars. It was nothing new for the American Hot 100. Songs about the land of the Sphinx had been best-sellers for decades. In 1917, tenor James Harrod, singing as George Wilson, had a hit with There’s Egypt In Your Dreamy Eyes. Two years later, Earl Fuller’s Novelty Orchestra made waves with Egyptland. In Britain, music hall act Wilson, Keppel And Betty found fame with their sand-dancing act from the early ’30s. So when songwriter-producer Liam Sternberg came up with Walk Like An Egyptian, he was hardly breaking new territory. Part of the Akron, Ohio scene flourishing in the late ’70s, Sternberg was an affiliate of Jane Aire And The Belvederes, and sold the idea of local band round-up The Akron Compilation to London indie Stiff in 1978. If nothing else, that LP acquainted UK recordbuyers with a ‘burning rubber’-scented scratch’n’sniff sleeve. While in England, he also crossed the Channel. The sea was rough and as passengers struggled to keep their balance, Sternberg was reminded of sanddancing and hieroglyphics, and jotted down the title Walk Like An Egyptian in a notebook. Enter Marti Jones, from Unionville, Ohio, not far from Akron. She’d sung with her sisters in a folk group and had a degree in studio art from Kent State University. In summer ’83 she began working on demos with Sternberg, who she described as “hot shit at the time”. He’d written a song with Bangles in mind, but was lining up Walk Like An Egyptian for choreographer/singer Toni Basil. In an interview for entertainment site Pop Dose, Jones explained: “He gave it to me and told me: ‘I know it’s a total bullshit song, but it’s the kind of thing that could work for somebody like her.’ I told him it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard in my life.” The 4-track demo was offered to Ms Basil. She said no. Lene Lovich recorded the first version of the song, but opted to take a break for family reasons rather than release it. Later, the song turned up on a tape from Peer Southern Publishing and that reached Bangles producer David Kahne. “I really liked the demo,” he recalled. “Marti sang it with an offhand quality that I thought was really great.” Kahne took the song to Bangles, who agreed to record it. Each member sang the song to decide who would tackle each verse: on the final version, guitarist Vicki Peterson, bassist Michael Steele, and rhythm guitarist Susanna Hoffs sang
“I told him it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard.’ MARTI JONES
lead on the first, second, and third verses, respectively; drummer Debbi Peterson was relegated to back-up only. Assigned to the Bangles’ second album, Different Light, it became its third 45 after Manic Monday, a worldwide smash penned by Prince under the pseudonym Christopher, and If She Knew What She Wants, a Jules Shear creation. First hitting in the Billboard charts in early September ’86, the single climbed to the top where it stayed for four weeks, delighting Sternberg who loved the quartet’s interpretation. “It was everything I had in mind only better,” he said. Jones regarded it as an exact copy of the demo. It didn’t stop Walk Like An Egyptian reaching US Number 1, UK Number 3 and Top 10 in Europe and Australasia, helped no doubt by a goofy video which featured the band in Pharaonic belly-dancer outfits, New Yorkers sand-dancing and manipulated graphics of the Statue Of Liberty, Princess Di and Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi following suit. Sternberg’s later credits included songs for Fuzzbox and the theme to TV cop show 21 Jump Street. Bangles continued to enjoy chart success for the rest of the decade, but despite February 1989’s megahit Eternal Flame, by the year’s end Hoffs had left for a solo career. Since reforming in 1998, they’ve recorded two new albums and reunited with original bassist Annette Zilinskas, Steele having left in 2005. Alongside fan faves Going Down To Liverpool, Hero Takes A Fall and their cover of Big Star’s September Gurls, the quartet always perform Walk Like An Egyptian at gigs.